Shloka 38
Bhīṣma–Śiśupāla-saṃvādaḥ
Bhishma and Shishupala’s exchange in the assembly
ते त्वां हंससधर्माणमपीमे वसुधाधिपा: । निहन्युर्भीष्म संक्रुद्धा: पक्षिणस्तं यथाण्डजम्
te tvāṁ haṁsasadharmāṇam apīme vasudhādhipāḥ | nihanyur bhīṣma saṁkruddhāḥ pakṣiṇas taṁ yathāṇḍajam ||
Engkau juga seumpama angsa itu pada tabiatnya; maka raja-raja ini, dalam kemurkaan, akan menumpaskanmu hari ini, wahai Bhīṣma—sebagaimana burung-burung dahulu membunuh angsa itu, yang lahir dari telur. Dalam hal ini, para sarjana yang mengetahui Purāṇa menyanyikan sebuah gāthā lama; wahai perhiasan keturunan Bharata, akan aku kisahkan kepadamu dengan jelas.
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a moralizing comparison: a person perceived as swan-like—distinct, proud, or set apart—may become a target of collective anger. It warns how public insult and factional rage in a royal assembly can turn into violence, and it frames the point through an exemplum (a remembered gāthā) to lend traditional authority.
Śiśupāla addresses Bhīṣma in the royal assembly, threatening that the assembled kings, provoked and furious, will kill him, likening Bhīṣma to a swan killed by other birds. He then signals that he will support his claim by narrating an old Purāṇic gāthā known to traditional scholars.